Judy works the night shift in a grocery store and leads a normal boring life — until she finds a yeti eating all the ice cream in the freezer aisle. Animal Control transfers her call to the Cryptobiological Containment and Rescue Services, who send Monster over. He’s blue, but seems otherwise well equipped to do some monster pest control. The next day, Judy forgets. More like immediately, really. Unfortunately for her, she’s a "light incognizant": she can recognize and absorb magical things happening, but she forgets almost as soon as they’re gone. As opposed to an incognizant — their minds can’t absorb magic at all so they just ignore it — or a cognizant, who sees, understands, and remembers. Life is hardest on light incognizants, because they have to puzzle through only half-remembering weird magical things. Too bad for Judy; things are about to get much worse.

After picking up the yeti at Judy’s grocery store, Monster just keeps running into her. Like he doesn’t have enough to deal with — his paper gnome of an assistant keeps telling him that he’s doing things wrong, his girlfriend is literally a demon, he just wants to sleep for a whole eight hours for once, and he changes to a different color every time he wakes up. But when he’s blue he’s invulnerable to violent harm.

Monster by A. Lee Martinez reads like a Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman novel and keeps you giggling while telling you a fun story that you start to think might just be the way things really do work. Especially if you liked Good Omens, by Pratchett and Gaiman, I’d recommend you give Monster a shot. It’s a little bit fantasy, a little bit mystery, but mostly a comedy. This book is perfect for a long flight or car ride as it’s a quick, easy, and entertaining read.

Jessica Seipel – Savage Branch

Fantasy novels often have unicorns, fairies, and dragons, and these days werewolves and vampires are very popular. Not many books though have griffins as the main characters. Rachel Neumeier’s new adventure, Lord of the Changing Winds, features amazingly original griffins.

These griffins (part eagle, part lion) are purely creatures of fire, bringing a stark red desert with them wherever they roost. Having recently been driven out of their home lands, the griffins have shifted to the green, fertile lands of Feierband without seeking either permission or forgiveness for the encroachment of their desert.

The griffins were displaced after losing battles to earth mages who can damp their fires. They were in desperate need of a fire mage who can heal. The sole remaining griffin mage finds just such a person in a young girl, Kes. She has talent that  would have made her into an earth mage, except that the griffins changed her nature to fire. Many people become outraged on Kes’ behalf, although she seems to accept her changing fate with relative equanimity.

By the time I had figured out the griffin characters (who have unwieldy names) and pieced together the basics of the story, I still wasn’t entirely invested in the story. It takes a little while to become fully absorbed. However, once the introductions and scene are established, the second half of the book provides a fast, furious story full of battles — both of might and of will.

Given the stressed political backdrop, the author has her characters ponder some fairly weighty questions. Among them: What is the appropriate use of military force to maintain a country’s integrity? What constitutes open and informed consent for making decisions? The griffins are so totally alien that basic human assumptions for interaction do not hold true. If the two aggressors have so little common ground, how can negotiations begin? Neumeier gives them a common enemy to combine forces to fight. It will be interesting to see in the next volume whether a common enemy will continue to unite such different races.

Kristen Blount – Administrative Office

Marked is P. C. and Kristin Cast’s first book in the series called House of Night. House of Night is also the name of the school where Zoey will train to become an adult vampire. Everyone who is Marked is sent to the school for this special training. However, not everyone who is Marked makes the Change. It is lucky for Zoey that the vampire Goddess Nyx has Marked her as special, but she is not the only one at the House of Night with remarkable powers.

The House of Night is a new beginning for Zoey. When she first arrives at school, it’s a bit hard for her to settle in, but Zoey quickly becomes friends with Damien, Stevie Rae, Erin, and Shanuee. Together they have to work to overcome all the evil in the world — and it’s up to them to save it.

Marked does a great job in introducing us to the characters and the world of the House of Night. If you liked the Harry Potter or Twilight series, chances are you will like this series as well.

Tom Neary – Central Library

Imagine you’ve reached the top of your field. You have the respect of your peers, and the devotion of your followers. Then the game changes: your old skills are not the right ones for the new job, and you have different people to work with — some of whom don’t really trust you. 

In Oath of Fealty, Elizabeth Moon puts three older characters (i.e., they are from a previous series and are middle-aged) into that situation. I was pleasantly surprised by these competent adults. So many fantasy novels concentrate on coming of age stories, which necessarily include "on the job" trials and tribulations. Not that this book lacks in trials, and they are thornier than average.

More than 20 years after writing about woman warrior Paksenarrion, Moon returns to other characters from that story. Kieri Phelan has gone from a mercenary captain and rural duke to being king, but he rules a country divided between elves and humans. His court is used to the quieter pace of an older ruler. Captain Dorrin Verrakai, one of Phelan’s captains and now a duke, must confront her family and its evil. She ran away for good reasons, and now returns to clean up a literal and magical mess. Last but not least, Captain Arcolin becomes the commander of Phelan’s mercenary company, after being a captain for many years. He has to learn to accept his new level of authority.

There are almost three novellas in this one book, following each of these characters through their separate adventures. It works as a single story though, as all three grow into new roles that they never sought or expected to fill. In this excellent high fantasy novel, we read about honor, adventure, strange and mystical creatures, true evil, and (hopefully) the triumph of good. Oath of Fealty introduces a promising new series, and is an excellent book in its own right.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

The conventional notion is that you have to die before you can go to Hell. Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim turns that expectation on its head. Sandman Slim is a novel about a living man who has been exiled to Satan’s kingdom for 11 years. Upon his escape, he returns to Earth to take revenge on the people who are responsible for his exile.  

He has a busy time of it, too. While the man does sleep now and then, mostly the hero of this book spends his time stealing cars so that he can hunt somebody down or avoid being hunted himself. He also spends a lot of time fighting old enemies, alienating friends, or making new enemies so that, during quiet interludes, he can fight them too. As you may guess, this book, while not particularly short, moves at a breathtaking pace.  

The book also describes a much more complex afterlife than that which many of us were raised to believe. It’s fairly improbable, but just plausible enough to be quite entertaining. Sandman Slim is also clever and imaginative. Pick it up — if you do, I doubt very much that you will be able to put it down. 

Joe McHugh – Administration Office

Simple, sheer delight. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones provides the almost perfect fairy tale for readers of all ages. Wynne Jones’ graceful prose provides an easy transition into a world of magic of all sorts from mundane to the frighteningly bizarre.

Sophie is a young girl who works as a milliner in her stepmother’s shop. She seems content with her ordinary life — until she meets the handsome young wizard Howl, after which her life is never the same. She has a nasty encounter with the Witch of the Wastes that leaves her a young woman in an old woman’s body, flees town, becomes Howl’s housekeeper in his mobile castle, meets a strange scarecrow, corrals Howl’s apprentice, befriends the talking fire Calcifer, and her escapades have only just begun. At the end of her courageous quest, she discovers her true self and helps others do the same.

Howl apparently has two goals in life: 1) To be admired by as many people as possible, and 2) To stop a war. One is obviously a more worthy goal, but it’s amusing to see how the two intertwine. Howl is frightfully self-absorbed, and one of the most interesting characters in decades. He’s a vain and extremely talented wizard who wants to save the world. The book revolves around the mystery of Howl’s heart, and whether Sophie can save it.

Too often adapted screenplays don’t respect their literary origins. How often do you just know that the book is going to be better than the movie? Hayao Miyazaki’s animated feature not only respects the novel, but celebrates its playfulness and serious underlying themes. This is a beautiful and faithful rendition of the novel (even if the book is still better). It also relies on some great voice talent, including Lauren Bacall and Billy Crystal. So read the book, then watch the movie. This is a story I love in any format.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

Sometimes, authors like to ask "what if?" to see where the imaginary road leads. In The Thirteenth Child, Patricia Wrede asks some interesting what-ifs:

1.  What if the land bridge from Asia to North America never formed?

2.  What if magical animals existed along with prehistoric mammals that never went extinct because the ice age (which caused the land bridge) never occurred?

3.  What if magic was part of everyday life and taught in school along with the three R’s?

4.  What would the frontier look like, given all these other what-ifs?

Wrede walks us down a lovely path into an alternative America. The East Coast has been well established with cities, railroads, and universities, but the interior is still being settled — with all the dangers pertinent to pushing a frontier.

Eff is the last — thirteenth — child of an academic family. Her twin brother, Lan, is the lucky seventh son of a seventh son. To protect Eff from superstitious people bent on blaming a supposedly unlucky child for everything from broken dishes to bad weather, her father accepts a position to teach magical theory at a new university in the Northern Territory. 

Life along the Great Barrier is wildly different than the known parameters (physical and social) of the coastal cities. After all, this world has not just woolly mammoths, but steam dragons too. Eff and her siblings explore their surroundings and their own limits. In the end, Eff has to decide who she wants to be: an unlucky thirteenth child or a powerful magician who works for the good of the community. 

The Thirteenth Child follows the traditions of many stories told about the American frontier, especially those of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Willa Cather, offering its own delightful twists on a familiar tale. I enjoyed traveling this imaginary road with Wrede and seeing where her "what-ifs" lead.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

Yeah, right, I can hear you thinking, no book can live up to an intro like that. Normally, I’d agree with you. I was skeptical, but The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss delivered in spades. It doesn’t matter what genre you prefer, you should read this book for its excellent story with polished and artful prose. Technically high fantasy, it also contains elements of mystery, romance, and the picaresque.

Meet Kvothe (pronounced almost like "Quothe"), who makes the outrageous claims listed above. Though he’s settled into the quiet life of an innkeeper in an obscure village, he’s managed to cram a lot of living into a relatively short time. Raised among traveling performers, the young genius survives the complete destruction of his family and subsequent years of begging and stealing. He eventually resolves to discover as much as he can about his family’s mythical, magical killers, which leads him to the University.

Most of the novel recounts Kvothe’s time as a student and a local performer. Whip-smart and gifted student as he is, Kvothe is an equally good musician. He has a certain wry perspective on the world, which helps him remain a believable hero. Also, Kvothe’s tendency to leap without looking (or thinking) leads to many messy situations, which kept me reading voraciously, always needing to know how he extricated himself.

I’m waiting for the next book, Wise Man’s Fear, to hit the shelves in May. You can enjoy this outstanding debut as a traditionally published book or as downloadable audio.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

In its briefest summary, Sabriel by Garth Nix is a tale of two worlds and the girl who saved them. The Wall separates Ancelstierre (1930s England) from the Old Kingdom, where magic still operates – both legal Charter magic and illegal necromancy. Foremost in the battle against evil, the Abhorsen polices the Old Kingdom making sure that the dead stay dead. Only, no one is quite sure of the Abhorsen’s whereabouts when the story begins.

We do know, however, that the Abhorsen’s daughter, Sabriel, is finishing boarding school in Ancelstierre with top marks in magic. After a series of disturbing incidences, Sabriel returns to the Old Kingdom wielding her father’s bandolier of magical bells and heirloom sword. She discovers that much has gone awry and sets out for her father’s house. Accompanied by Mogget, the sleepy cat who is more than he seems, and Touchstone, a swordsman with memory troubles, Sabriel is hunted across the land as she begins a desperate adventure to save her father and restore the kingdom.

While the basic story may not seem terribly original, Nix simply excels at world-building and the craft of writing. The obsession with Death, which appears as a river that necromancers and the Abhorsen can enter as they please, will appeal to many teens. I enjoyed how each bell in the bandolier rings with an insistent and distinct voice. Sabriel’s wild ride from Ancelstierre across the Wall and through the Old Kingdom literally gave me goosebumps at times. This book builds tension quickly and whips you through a fraught (and sometimes frightening) story.

Acclaimed voice-actor Tim Curry narrates the audiobook, lending a lovely level of darkness and creepiness just by the tenor of his voice. The story of the Old Kingdom’s struggles continues with Lirael, Daughter of the Clayr, in which Mogget meets his match in the Disreputable Dog. The second installment introduces one of the best libraries ever invented — where the librarians have to go armed with daggers, whistles and ropes. The trilogy concludes with Abhorsen, which ties many seemingly disparate threads together into an original and cohesive whole.

Kristen Blount – Administration

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

Imager by L. E. Modesitt introduces Rhennthyl, a young man trying to answer that question. He knows he doesn’t want to be a wool factor like his father and brother. He seems to do very well for a time as a journeyman portrait painter, until starting to exhibit signs of magic. Then, the studio where Rhenn works explodes…after he ill-wishes his master’s odious son. Not sure what fate awaits him, he crosses the Bridge of Hopes to enroll in the college of Imagers.

In this world created by Modesitt, magic is called imaging — which happens when one of the talented few imagine something and it becomes real. This seems all good when you want to replace a broken vase, but has some less obvious applications such as imaging air into a person’s heart to stop it.

Reading the first half of Imager reminded me of attending college. Rhenn enters into a crash course of science, philosophy, and government, which, in turn, offers a surprisingly thorough way to provide world building. It also leads to fairly slow plotting. But once unknown bad guys begin taking shots at Rhenn on a fairly regular basis, the story progresses more quickly.

Rather than a rip-roaring adventure itself, this first book in a new series works more to set the scene for future installments. Rhenn does solve the mystery of who’s shooting at him and why, but his advancement as a talented imager seems to matter as much as back-alley shenanigans. Imager is a well written, but fairly quiet, introduction to a world and a main character about to experience political upheaval on a large scale and professional upheaval on a personal level. The second book is due to be published in October, and I’ll be waiting to read it. I want to see what Rhenn is capable of now that he’s grown up and has answered the question of what he wants to do with his life.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office